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Just Reed & Play

in Preschool and K

in Print

Fun Morning Greeting Ideas for the Classroom

Morning Greeting Ideas

Do you use Morning Greetings in your classroom?  If not, you may want to start!  Keep reading to check out some fun morning greeting ideas you can implement from day one.

Morning Greetings are simply fun ways for children to greet their teacher and their classmates when they arrive at school.  Some are simple and straightforward.  Others are quirky and silly.  No matter what morning greeting ideas you use, your students will relish this tradition.

Why to Include Morning Greetings

Morning Greetings are a great way to deepen relationships and build a sense of community.  As students greet each other, they feel welcome and excited about the day ahead.

Morning greetings are also a great way for children to feel seen, acknowledged, and valued by their teacher.  When a child enters your room and you greet them warmly, they feel like they belong.

Morning greetings are a way to give children a fresh start.  Maybe they went home yesterday feeling defeated or frustrated, but being greeted warmly when they arrive back at school gives them a fresh perspective.  Or maybe they are tired and cranky and didn’t want to come to school.  However, when greeted lovingly by their teacher and classmates, children often become re-energized and eager to start their day.

How to Implement Morning Greetings

Start by introducing one or two morning greeting choices during circle time the first week of school.  Let the children practice by walking around and greeting as many of their classmates as they can.

A traditional handshake is a great morning greeting to begin with because it’s something students are familiar with in society, and it’s a greeting they’ll use throughout their lives–even as adults!

Gradually add more morning greeting choices, and you’ll be amazed at how eager children are to greet each other–and you–when they arrive at school each day.

Create a “Morning Greetings” choice board to hang outside your classroom or on the wall by your morning meeting area.  As children arrive, they can review the morning greeting ideas and choose the one they want to do that morning.  You could also display the choices on your interactive whiteboard during morning meeting.

morning greeting ideas for kindgerarten

Switch out your greeting choices periodically to keep things fresh and exciting.  You could also consider making “Morning Greeter” one of your helper jobs.  This child could stand just inside the classroom door and be the official greeter when children enter the room.

Ways to Mix Up Your Morning Greetings

Have a Morning Greeting of the Day.  As children arrive at school, surprise them with the morning greeting on a poster by the door.  They’ll be eager to arrive at school each morning so they can see what that day’s greeting will be.

This is also great for those reluctant students who always choose the same greeting day after day.  This will push them out of their comfort zone and encourage them to try new things!

Play Morning Greeting Match Up. Print 2 copies of each morning greeting and pass them out randomly during morning circle.  Have students wander around and find the child who has a matching greeting card and then those two children will greet each other in that way.  The kids love this, and it’s a great way to incorporate a quick movement break into your morning circle.

Have a whole class Morning Greeting Time during Circle. Hold up the daily morning greeting (or the morning greeting choices) during your large group circle meeting.  Then, have the children greet the children on their row or the child beside them with a greeting.

Squeeze Some Manners into Your Morning Greetings

Unless they are directly taught this, children don’t realize the importance of eye contact.  Encourage children to make eye contact with the person they are greeting.

Show them how to give a firm, yet gentle, handshake.  Teach them how to speak up and speak clearly when greeting someone.

Teach them to stand up tall and proud.  These morning greeting manners are something they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.

A Few Final Thoughts and Morning Greeting Ideas

No matter what type of display you choose to use, your students will be eager to greet each other and greet you in the mornings.  This fun tradition is perfect for Pre-K and K, but can even be used successfully with older children.

Beginning the tradition early on, teaching expectations, and practicing, will help make the morning greeting tradition one of the most successful and loved routines of your day.

If you’re ready to get started using Morning Greetings in your own classroom, check out this packet.  It includes 20 different greetings and three styles of signs to print and display.

Check out these posts for more fun back to school ideas!

  • First Day with The Kissing Hand
  • How to Have a Tear-Free School Drop Off
  • How to Use a Visual Schedule

morning greetings pin

 

15 Comments

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Comments

  1. Enid says

    August 29, 2022 at 12:52 pm

    Great ideas

    Reply
  2. Tina says

    September 22, 2022 at 12:00 am

    Thank you for morning greetings

    Reply
    • Bianca says

      February 17, 2025 at 11:59 am

      Thanks

      Reply
  3. Sara says

    July 28, 2023 at 8:25 am

    Love these ❤️

    Reply
  4. K says

    August 7, 2023 at 12:07 pm

    Thank you

    Reply
  5. rocio says

    August 8, 2023 at 10:42 pm

    love em

    Reply
  6. Sophia Flokal says

    September 5, 2023 at 3:25 pm

    Thank you so much

    Reply
  7. Stacy says

    September 12, 2023 at 10:50 pm

    Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  8. Thana says

    January 6, 2024 at 12:53 am

    Thank you for your great idea.

    Reply
  9. Laetitia du Preez says

    January 22, 2024 at 6:36 am

    Thank you

    Reply
  10. Nekitha says

    March 21, 2024 at 3:43 pm

    Just love this

    Reply
  11. Cayla says

    April 22, 2024 at 10:30 am

    Thank you

    Reply
  12. Lauren says

    May 5, 2024 at 10:14 pm

    Love these!!! The visuals are great too for my ELL students. Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  13. Raeesa Khan says

    August 26, 2024 at 9:22 am

    thanks

    Reply
  14. farah says

    August 31, 2024 at 12:42 pm

    helpfull

    Reply

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